Ask the company how many sales they have conducted in your town, especially within the past three months. Again, an estate sale company with a consistently high activity level will likely charge more for their services.
If the company does not have liability insurance, and a shopper is injured during the sale, you could be held liable for their expenses. Learn whether the estate sale company will bring items from other estates to your estate sale. This is a common practice, as more items may drum up additional interest. However, you may find the practice annoying, as the company is recycling previous items for its own benefit.
Some dual-business owners do a mediocre job with their estate sales. Afterward, they take the most valuable unsold items back to their store and retain the entire sale proceeds.
Your estate sale costs can vary widely in large metropolitan areas vs rural locations. When looking at estate sale companies, be sure to compare companies in both rural and metropolitan areas and obtain standard regional rate information. These differences can affect your bottom line. Most estate sale companies pay their sellers within two to three weeks of the sale date.
Ensure that you add a payment deadline to your written contract. Before signing the estate sale contract , ask for references from three former clients. In addition, research their reviews on the internet. Look specifically for hidden fees and other costs that previous clients were not expecting.
Insist on a written estate sale contract. Ensure that the terms of the sale, including extra fees, are clearly outlined. Finally, never pay the estate sale fees upfront. Ensure that the written contract spells out the estate sale commission structure.
If there are specific commission rates for different groups of items, the contract should explain that structure. Verify that the written contract includes all the estate sale fees, including extra charges.
You want to avoid surprises that could hurt your bottom line. If your estate sale involves special conditions, the company should state those terms in the contract. For example, you may need to arrange for special access to a gated community. Include this or other special conditions in the contract. A reputable estate sale company will have associates with appraisal experience or will have connections to qualified appraisers.
When items are attractively displayed on tables, or clothing is hung on easy-to-access racks, shoppers are more likely to browse those items. Ask the estate sale company to detail its merchandising and display plan. A knowledgeable estate sale company will request that an expert appraiser price high-dollar items. Ask the estate sale company to create a written plan for auction items. After you sign the estate sale contract, do not sell any estate sale items. If you do that, the estate sale company may assess a 50 percent penalty for selling those pieces.
At the end of the sale, company associates will remove unsold items from the home. If you donate any unsold items, add a contract provision stating that the company will provide a complete list of donated items.
Expect to receive your estate sale proceeds within two to three weeks after the sale date. Clearly state a payment deadline in your contract. Some other routes include eBay, live auctions, and holding your own estate sale. However, your emotional attachment to the items may make it difficult to assign realistic prices. However, using an established estate sale company will help you to realize an overall better value. Full Estate Sale Cost. Paul Williamson — June 19th, Money is made when items sell.
Others lay out a sliding scale in their contract, and the commission is determined by the gross profits. The contract may include a minimum, to guarantee that the sale will cover their expenses regardless of the turnout. Keep in mind that this is just an average. Many sales may bring in more revenue, while others may not come close to this. Sale revenue has many variables that affect it. In addition to commission, some companies include other fees—trash hauling and advertising being the two most common.
Ask about their background, and what they will bring to the table. You can ask how much they expect the sale to bring in, but estate sale companies may not be willing to give you an estimate—too many variables can affect the outcome of a sale, from the merchandise to the weather.
Are you trying to make as much money as possible, for example, or just trying to clear out a home? Many estate sale companies will charge an additional rate for this service post-sale.
This can include taking it to a charity or a buy-out person may purchase the remainder of the items. Most clients prefer this plan, unless they want to go through the unsold items to see if there is anything they would like to keep. Still, there are other clients who may need multiple services before the estate sale can be organized.
Some of these may be:. An estate professional to walk through the home to determine the best option for selling the contents. Not all scenarios are a good fit for an on-site estate sale, such as when the client lives in a gated community, high-rise, etc. Some liquidators may have the ability to remove items from an estate and bring it to their warehouse or store, or if permitted, to another sale keeping the inventory completely separate and accounted for.
This is usually an hourly rate service. An estate sale professional will have contacts and know upper tier auction houses that will be a good fit for your more significant items. An estate consultant can also assist you in making decisions on what to keep, sell, donate, and discard. The cleaning out of the attic or other areas may be an additional hourly rate. Sort through garages, barns, outdoor sheds, and workshops to determine what should be discarded and what has enough value to sell.
Depending on the scope of work, this may be an additional hourly service; if they are conducting the sale for you, this may be included in the estate sale commission.
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